Cheese-cutter.



' PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

AB. ROACH.

CHEESE CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 12, 1904.

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PATENTED JUNE 12, 1906.

A. B. ROAGH.

CHEESE GUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED 11116.12. 1904.

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ARLAND B. ROACH, OF LOS THIRDS TO CHARLES MGKINNEY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CHEESE-CUTTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 12, 1906I Application filed August l2, 1904. Serial No. 220,509.

To all whom t may conce'. '1a.'

. Be it known that I, ARLAND B. RoAoH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cheese-Cutters, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of this invention is to provide a cheese-cutter of extreme simplicity and great accuracy.

The invention comprises, in connection with a rotatable cheese-support and a lever connected to rotate said support, a graduated scale-stop for limiting the movement of the lever according to the quantity of cheese to be cut; The said graduated scale-stop has a series of stop portions the positions of which relative to the movement of the lever determine the extent of said movement and stop means carried by the lever and movable to engage with different stop portions according to the adjustment of said stop means on the lever.

A further object of the invention is to enable the engagement and disengagement of said stop means to be effected by the same hand that moves the lever and without withdrawing the hand from the lever.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan with the rotatable cheesesupport partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a plan showing the frame, the stop-scale or gage-plate, and the operating-lever, the overlying parts being broken away. Fig. 4 is a detail section on line wt m4 in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail section on line x5 acs in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective of the brake for preventing back movement of the cheese-support. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical section showing a different construction of the pivotal support for the cutting-knife.

1 designates a suitable base, which may be in the form of a ring with cross-pieces or radial arms 2. On one of said arms is a bracket 3, carrying a pivot 4 for the rotatable cheesecarrier, said carrier comprising a wheel 5, journaled on said pivot 4, and a removable cheese-supporting board or disk 6, resting on said wheel. Frame 1 is desirably provided with lugs 7, extending inwardly and upwardly to engage the lower face of the wheel 5. Wheel 5 is a toothed wheel and is operated by a handle-lever S, which carries a suitable gear device, hereinafter described, for engaging or connecting the lever with the wheel in one direction of the movement and releasing such engagement in the opposite direction. The said lever is pivoted at 9 on an arm 2 and is provided with a stop device, (indicated at 10,) adapted to engage or coperate with a scale-stop or gage-plate 11 to arrest the movement of the lever in any one of a plurality of series of positions corresponding both to the weight of cheese to be cut and to the original weight of cheese on the scale. The stop device 10 may consists of a pin which is spring-pressed toward and vagainst the scale-plate, and the stop means on the scale-plate may consist of a plurality of perforations 12 in said plate to engage said pin, as hereinafter described.

13 designates a cheese-cutting knife which is supported on a frame or arm 14, pivoted at 15 to a suitable bracket or support 16, so that said knife will swing in a vertical plane to cause its inner and lower cutting edges 17 to penetrate the cheese to the center thereof. The support 16 may be formed as-a bracket rising from the base 1 and extending part way over the cheese-support, as shown. Knife 13 is desirably made to slide on the supporting arm or frame 14 by slots 17 therein sliding on pins 19 to enable the cheese-cloth to be more readily severed, the knife being provided with a handle 18, that serves both to raise and lower the knife to cut the cheese and to reciprocate the knife to cut the cloth.

The stop device 10 is supported in a slide 20, movable in a slot or guideway 21 in the handle-lever 8, this movement being radial to the pivot 9 of the lever, and the slide 20 is provided with a pointer or index 22, which in this movement traverses a line of characters or marks 23 on the lever 8, said line extending radially to said pivot and the marks corresponding, respectively, to the weights of the different sizes of cheese to be cut. By this means the stop on the lever may be adapted to move in different paths as the lever is moved. A series of perforations 12 may be arranged adjacent to said marks, also in a lineradial to said pivot, these perforations engaging with the stop-pin 10 in the initial or starting position of the handle. Other series of perforations 12 are provided, as indicated, on the gage-plate, the distances of said perforations in the direction of the movement of the lever and stop device being different at different distances from the pivotal center 9, these perforations constituting fixed stop devices located at variant angular distances in the different paths of movement of the lever stop device 10. Said series of perforations are marked, respectively, with the ordinary weights of cheese to be cnt SuGh as :15mn my ,n :cn and :41H pound-and the arrangement of said series of perforations is such that when the stop device 10 has been moved radially to bring its index opposite to a particular character 23 corresponding to the original weight of the cheese in the machine and the handle is moved to cause the stop device to pass circumferentially over the scale-plate the position of the arms as said stop device reaches any particular series of perforations 12 in the scaleplate will be such as to correspond to the weight of cheese indicated by the mark ad- .'acent to that series of perforations.

The slide 20 may befastened in any position in the guideway 21 by means of a set-screw device or clamp consisting of a plate 25, engaging with the lower side of ribs 24 on the lever 8, s acrew-post 26, extending upwardly from said plate through the slot 21, and a nut 27 on said post engaging with the top ofthe lever 8, so as to bind the side and the plate on opposite sides of the guideways. The engagement of the stop-pin 10 with the scale-plate is effected by means of a spring 28, surroundsaid stop-pin and inclosed in a barrel 29 on the slide 20, the lower end of said spring bearing against ashoulder 30 on the V'stop-pin and the upper end thereof bearing against a shoulder 31 on said barrel. Disengagement of said pin from the stop-plate is effected by means of a thumb-piece or finger-lever 32, pivoted to the handle and connected to operate the pin 11 to Withdraw it from the scale-plate and from the perforations therein. In order that said device shall act in all radial positions of the slide on the lever, it has a sliding connection with the stop-pin, consisting, for example, of a bar 33, pivoted to said lever 32 and to a lever 34, so as to have a parallel movement relatively to the handlelever 8 and engaging beneath a collar 35 on the upper end of stop-pin 10. Said bar may be duplicated on both sides of said stop-pin and may engage with shoulders 36 on the barrel 29 to limit the downward movement of the bar or bars 33, which downward movement is effected by a spring 37 acting on the thumb-piece or lever 32. When the said thumb-piece or lever is depressed by the thumb or hand, it will cause the parallel-motion bar or bars 33 to rise, thereby lifting the stop-pin 10.

38 designates an adjustable stop which is formed on a clamp-screw device 39, adustably movable in a slot 40 in the scale-plate 1 1 said slot extending circumferentially or tangentially of the pivotal axis of the lever and adapted to limit the maximum movement of said lever, as hereinafter explained.

The operating connection between the lever S and the carrier-wheel 5 may consist of a pinion 40, engaging said wheel and journaled on a slide 42, movable in aradial slot 43, on said lever, and a ratchet-wheel 44, connected to said pinion and engaged by apawl 45 on said slide. The slide has a downward projection 46, engaging in a slot 47, concentric with the pivotal axis 4 of wheel 5, so that thepinion 40 is held in proper cooperative relation with the gear-wheel 5 in all positions of the lever. When the handle is moved in the direction of Y the arrow in Fig. 1, the pawl 45 will prevent the rotation of the pinion and thegear-wheel, and the cheese-support mounted thereonwill be carried bodily with the lever to an extent determined by the movement of the lever as controlled by the gage-plate and the stop means thereon. In the return movement of the lever the pawl-and-ratchet device will allow the pinion to roll back over the gear without operating the latter. To insure that there will be no back movement of the gear at this time, it is desirable to provide a brake. A suitable brake for this purpose is shown in the drawings, the same consisting of a block 48,desirably wedge-shaped and supported in a l tapering way formed between the gear-wheel 5 and a fixed bracket or lug 49 on the frame 1, so that in the forward movement of said wheel the block will move toward the large end of said way and will free the wheel, whereas in the opposite direction of movement the block will be carried toward the small end of said way and will bind the wheel and stop the movement thereof. A s ring 5() is desirably provided, holding the b ook in the way toward the small end thereof, so as to insure retention of the block and quick action thereof in braking.

The cheese-cutter is used as follows: The cheese having been weighed, itis placed on a platform or cheese-board 6, and the handlelever 8 having been brought to the initial position shown in Fig. 7 the slide 20 is adjusted radially to bring the index thereon in line with the characterl corresponding to the weight of the cheese and is then clamped in position. The handle of lever 8 is then gripped and the finger-piece 32 depressed to disengage the stop-pin from the scale-plate, the handle being then moved over to the last series of perforations in the scale-plate and the thumb-piece released to allow the stoppin to engage in the perforation in that series which is in line circumferentially with the character corresponding to the total weight of the cheese. The adjustable stop device 33 is then moved to the left until it strikes the IOO IIO

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lever 8 and is then fastened by its clampscrew 39 in that position. The thumb-piece 32 is then again depressed to release the stoppin and the lever moved back to starting position and the stop-pin allowed to enter the perforation 12 in the initial series. The cutting-knife 13 is then depressed by operation of the handle 18, thereby forming a radial cut in the cheese, and is then lifted and swung clear of the cheese. Assuming that one-half pound of cheese is desired, the thumb-piece 32 is depressed to free the stop-pin and the handle moved over until the stop-pin reaches the series of perforations that is marked pound, corresponding to the weight of the segment of cheese that is to be cut, and the thumb-piece being then released the stop-pin engages in said perforation to hold the cheesesupport in this position. The knife being then again depressed cuts 0E the segment of cheese of the desired weight. In case the maximum weight-say one pound-is desired the handle is moved over until it strikes the stop 36, and said stop serves as a safeguard, preventing the handle being moved too far, it being understood that if such excess movement were to be made the brake device 48 would interfere with the return movement.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4 the handle frame or arm 14 is pivoted in a support 16, extending above the cheese. In some cases it may be desirable to support the handle by a pivot located lower down and at the side of the cheese. Thus, as shown in Fig. 7, the knife-carrying frame 14 extends rearwardly and downwardly and is pivoted at its lower end by pivot 15 to lugs 16 on the base 1. In both cases a wide bearing is secured either by forming the knife-carrying frame with arms (indicated at 5l in Fig. l) engaging with the bifurcated end of bracket 16 or in the form shown in Fig. 7, the knife-carrying frame having a bifurcated rear end 52.

1. In a cheese-cutter, a rotatable cheesesupport, an operating-lever therefor provided with a spring-pressed stop radially adjustable to move in different paths, a plate having a plurality of perforations disposed at variant angular distances in such different paths, and a stop adjustable on said plate to limit the maximum movement of said lever.

2. In a cheese-cutter, a rotatable cheesesupport, an operating-lever therefor havin a guideway, a slide adjustable on said gui eway and having a clamp for fastening it in adjusted position, a spring-pressed stop-pin on said slide, a finger-piece on said lever, a slidable connection between said lever and stop-pin, and xed stop means to engage said stop-pin.

3. In a cheese-cutter, a rotatable cheesesup ort, an operating-lever therefor having a gui ewa a slide adjustable on said guideway an having a clamp for fastening it in adjusted position, a spring-pressed stop-pin on said slide, a finger-piece on said lever, a parallel-motion device connecting said fingerpiece and stop-pin, and fixed stop means to engage said stop-pin.

4. In a cheese-cutter, the combination with the rotatable cheese-carrier, a gear thereon, and means for rotating said gear, a brake for said gear comprising a wedge-shaped brakeblock, anda support therefor formed with a tapering way.

5. In a cheese-cutter, the combination with the rotatable cheese-carrier, a gear thereon, and means for rotating said gear, a brake for said gear comprising a wedge-shaped brakeblock, a support therefor formed with a tapering way, and a spring pressing the block inwardly on said way.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, at Los Angeles, California, this 3d day of August, 1904.

ARLAND B. ROACH.

In presence of` ARTHUR P. KNIGHT, FREDERICK S. LYON. 

